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Kasha Pumpkin Pilaf with Shitake Mushrooms (Gluten Free)

My goal was to build a healthy and delicious grain bowl that was low-fat and filling. This combo of sweet pumpkin, sautéed crunchy cabbage and flavorful shitakes fits the bill.

A good friend whose diet is gluten-free was dubious when I assured him that the kasha pilaf I'd brought to a temple pot luck was indeed gluten-free. Despite its name, buckwheat is not wheat. Kasha comes from the buckwheat plant, which belongs to the same family as rhubarb. Though it looks and cooks like a grain, it's actually the seed of a fruit. After roasting, buckwheat is called kasha. I left out the classic bowtie noodles in classic kasha varnishkas to build an autumn grain bowl, perfect during Sukkot for a meal in the sukkah and to enjoy on Shabbat throughout the fall and winter.

Deborah Rood Goldman, a longtime member of the Garden City Jewish Center in Garden City, NY, currently serves as the congregation’s president. She is a digital communications producer on the Union for Reform Judaism's marketing and communications team. A native New Yorker, Deborah grew up on Long Island, and holds a bachelor’s degree in American civilization from Brown University and a master’s degree in library science from Queens College.